OPTICAL FIBER INTERCONNECTIONS USING SELF-ALIGNED CORE EXTENSIONS

Abstract: An optical fiber interconnecting structure connects an optical fiber (5) to an optical channel waveguide (1), in which a channel waveguide (1) is extended collinearly by a hollow channel (2) with sectional area and shape substantially identical to those for the channel waveguide (1). An optical fiber (5) is laid collinearly with the channel (1), and a core-extension (6) is formed at the end facet of the optical fiber (5) to form a gradual and smooth optical transition to the channel waveguide (1). The channel waveguide may be tapered out to have a substantially larger sectional area at the far end so as to ease the optical interconnection.

Description: Another important fiber optic technology is connection between an optical fiber and a channel waveguide. Currently, channel waveguides are patterned on or near the flat top surface of a bulk optical substrate using photolithography or other advanced techniques such as electron-beam or laser-beam writing. In most of the applications, a channel waveguide needs to be connected to an optical fiber in one-to-one, end- butt fashion. To make this connection, the end of the channel waveguide should be cut flat and right-angled with respect to the waveguide plane, and then polished with the fabrication tolerance in the order of a fraction of the optical wavelength while keeping the edge sharply right- angled within one or two microns from the substrate surface. Then an optical fiber with a cleaved facet is brought against the such-prepared end facet of the channel waveguide. The lateral alignment between the optical fiber core and the channel waveguide should be made within a few microns or less. Then a cementing material is applied to the butted region. The alignment often deteriorates while the cement is being cured due to the volume change and shift, causing connector loss. Even with perfect alignment, the shape mismatch between the round fiber core and the largely square- shaped channel waveguide causes substantial connector loss. Overall, a fiber-to-channel connection is a very expensive fabrication step. This is another reason why fiber optics has not been able to penetrate into the wider consumer market despite the enormous potential benefits. Disclosure of Invention Accordingly, it is the primary objective of the present invention to provide a novel optical interconnection embodiment that resolves the technical difficulties in optical fiber connectors. It is an accompanying objective of the present invention to provide a novel optical interconnection embodiment for arrayed fiber connectors. It is the general objective of the present invention to make the cost of optical fiber connection low enough even for the low-density, low-end optical optical fiber communication applications. The basic connection element of the present invention comprises a single optical fiber having a core and a cladding, a core-extension as disclosed in the referenced U.S. Patent No. 5,287 > -*-24, and a channel waveguide with a hollow end-section in which the core-extension is placed. As in the referenced patent, the core-extension is built upon the core end facet of the fiber in the shape of a diverging horn-like structure. In the present invention the sectional area of the channel waveguide is always larger than that of the core, and the fiber-to-channel waveguide connection is made through the core extension. Accordingly, connection between the fiber and the channel waveguide is self-aligned. The channel waveguide may perform various functions, such as modulation, wavelength multiplexing, switching, coupling, and connection. In an embodiment for fiber-to-fiber connection, the channel waveguide is tapered along the length to have a substantially large sectional area. Brief Description of Drawings Figure 1 shows in schematic fashion a perspective view of an optical channel waveguide, and a hollow channel which is a collinear extension of the channel waveguide. Also shown on the right are sectional views of the channel waveguide and that of the hollow channel at the two locations D and E. Figure 2 shows the same structure as Figure 1, except that a cover slab is added over the hollow channel. Figure 3 shows the same structure as Figure 1, except that an optical fiber is added, and a core-extension of the optical fiber is created inside the hollow end-section. Figure 4 shows a sectional view across the channel waveguide of the embodiment of Figure 2. Figure 5 shows the sectional side view of Figure 1 along the channel . Figure 6 shows the sectional plan view of Figure 1 along the channel. Figure 7 shows the sectional side view of Figure 3 along the channel. Figure 8 shows the sectional plan view of Figure 3 along the channel. Also shown are the sectional views of light guiding cores at the fiber core, various points of the core- extension, and the channel waveguide. Figure 9 shows the same structure as Figure 3 > except that the hollow channel is tapered out at the input end to aid the insertion of the fiber into the hollow channel. Figure 10 shows the same structure as Figure 3, except that the optical fiber is located entirely outside the hollow channel. Figure 11 shows a sectional plan view of Figure 10 along the channel. Also shown are the sectional views of light guiding cores in the fiber, various points in the core- extension, and the channel waveguide. Figure 12 shows the same structure as Figure 3 » except that there are two units of the optical fiber interconnection embodiment, instead of one, forming an array on the same substrate. Figure 13 shows the same structure as Figure 12, except that the channel waveguides are tapered out to be joined together, forming a light coupler. Figure 14 shows the same structure as Figure 3 > except that the channel waveguide is tapered out to make the sectional area larger at the end. Also shown are the sectional views of the light guiding cores at various points A through D. Figure 15 shows the same structure as Figure 13, except that the section of the channel has a circular shape. Figure 16 shows in a schematic manner a perspective view of a pair of optical fiber connectors containing the tapered channel waveguide shown in Figure 14. Figure 17 shows in a schematic manner a perspective view of one type of optical fiber connector the sectional view of which is shown in Figure 15. Figure 18 shows in a schematic manner a perspective view of another type of optical fiber connector with the sectional view as shown in Figure 15. Figure 19 shows the same structure as Figure 16, except that there are two units of the fiber interconnection element instead of one, forming a multi-fiber array connector. Figure 20 shows basically the same embodiment as that of Figure 14, except that the fiber is composed of two segments along the length. Figure 21 shows the same structure as Figure 20, except that one segment of the fiber has been removed. Figure 22 shows the same structure as Figure 14 or Figure 21, except that the optical fiber has been removed. Figure 23 shows a sectional view of Figure 20 in the plane bisecting the fiber core and the channel waveguide. Figure 24 shows a sectional view of Figure 21 in the plane bisecting the fiber core and the channel waveguide. Figure 25 shows a sectional view of Figure 22 in the plane bisecting the channel waveguide. Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention In Figure 1 is shown a channel waveguide (1) and a hollow channel (2) fabricated on a substrate (3). The area and shape of the cross section of the channel waveguide (1) are substantially identical to those of the hollow channel (2). This point is indicated schematically by sectional views at location D and location E in Figure 1. The sectional shapes do not have to be rectangular as shown. They can have any other shape, so long as the shapes and areas are substantially the same at the two locations D and E. Preferably, the channel waveguide (1) is made first by fabricating a hollow channel that extends through the channel waveguide (1) and the hollow channel (2), and then by filling up a part of the channel to form the channel waveguide (1). The photoreactive polymer materials such as described in the referenced patent (U.S. Patent No. 5,287,424) are especially adequate for fabricating the hollow channel (2) and channel waveguide (1) as shown in Figure 1. It is also possible to fabricate the embodiment of Figure 1 by first fabricating a channel waveguide that extends through the channel waveguide (1) and the hollow channel (2), and then by etching the channel waveguide over a part of the length so as to create the hollow channel (2). The hollow channel (2) may also be made by a molding technique. This will be the least expensive way, and thus would be most suitable for large volume production. The hollow channel (2) is preferably covered on top with a cover slab (4) as shown in Figure 2 so that the hollow channel (2) is enclosed on all four sides. The slab (4) may be the integral part of the substrate (3), or may be a removable one. The channel waveguide (1) is for light guiding, and thus is normally made of material with an index of refraction higher than that of the surroundings, namely, the substrate (3) and the medium on top. Figure 3 shows that an optical fiber (5) is placed in the hollow channel (2) of Figure 1, and a core-extension (6) is formed on the output end facet of the core (7) in the manner as described in the referenced patent. As described in "SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION" of the referenced patent, the index of refraction of the core-extension (6) is larger than that of the surrounding medium so that the light entering the core-extension (6) from the channel waveguide (1) with a proper input angle experiences the total internal reflection and is guided by the core-extension until it arrives and couples into the core (7). When light propagates in a tapered section with decreasing diameter, the incident angle becomes smaller. (Note: In the optical geometry, the incident angle is defined as the angle between the light ray and the normal to the waveguide boundary. ' In the more accurate picture using waveguide theory, the incident angle is determined by taking the arctangent of the ratio between the transverse component and the longitudinal component of the wave vector of a propagating eigenmode of the channel 8 waveguide.) When the taper length is too long and the taper angle too large, the incident angle of some light rays could become too small to experience the total internal reflection at some point along the taper. When this happens, these particular rays escape from the guiding structure. This effect can be reduced or even eliminated by making the taper angle small and the taper length shorter. When the taper angle is small enough, the so-called adiabatic process is achieved and light propagates without experiencing a loss, which would be caused by conversions from guided modes to unguided modes. Thus it is preferred to keep the taper angle of the core-extension (6) small. This can be achieved, while fabricating the core-extension (6) following the method taught in the referenced patent, by limiting the UV light entering the fiber core (7) only to the lower order modes of the fiber. Also, as described in the referenced patent, it helps to etch away the fiber cladding (6) as much as possible so that the core-extension (6) does not have to expand too much, and the core-extension angle does not have to be large to accomplish its interconnect function. In Figure 2, this means etching away all or most of the cladding (8) from the fiber (5), and also making the width and the depth of the hollow channel (2) not much larger than the fiber (5). The core-extension (6) may be made preferably of a material same as or similar to that of the channel waveguide (1) so that, after all of the fabrication is done, there would not be any boundary between the core-extension (6) and the channel waveguide (1). This will also reduce the reflection loss and some other losses that would be caused by imperfect conditions at the interface between the channel waveguide (1) and the core-extension (6). Since the core-extension (6) diverges until it touches the walls of the hollow channel (2), the transition from the core (7) to the channel waveguide (1) is self-aligned and the interface is completely matched in the shape and the size. This will be further clarified in Figure 4 through Figure 8, which show schematically the sectional views of the embodiments shown in Figure 1 through Figure 3. Figure 4 shows an enlarged sectional view of the channel waveguide (1) and the substrate (3) of Figure 2 across the plane perpendicular to the light propagation direction. The medium above the channel waveguide 1 may be air or some other optical material with an index of refraction lower than that of the channel waveguide (1). Figure 5 shows a sectional view of the channel waveguide (1), the substrate (3), and the cover slab (4) of Figure 2 along the channel and in the plane orthogonal to the substrate surface. The cover slab (4) may not be needed if the material for the core-extension (6) is prepared to be flush with the substrate top surface before the core- extension (6) is formed by UV light exposure. In this case the uppermost contour of the core-extension would be shaped in the same manner as if the cover slab (4) were placed over the hollow channel (2). Figure 6 shows a sectional view of the channel waveguide (1) and the substrate (3) of Figure 2 along the channel and across the plane parallel to the substrate surface. Figure 7 shows the same as Figure 5, except that tha fiber (5) with the core (7) and cladding (8), and the core- extension (6) are added. The core-extension (6) is fabricated according to the teaching of the referenced patent. The cover slab (4) may be removed after the core- extension is fabricated. Figure 8 shows a sectional view seen from the direction orthogonal to that for Figure 7- In other words, Figure 8 is the same as in Figure 6 except that the fiber (5) and its core-extension (6) are added. Also shown in Figure 8 is a series of sectional views of light-guiding structure at locations from A through E, starting from the optical fiber core (7) to three locations within the core-extension (6), and finally the channel waveguide (1). Due to the nature of the diverging core-extension as described in the referenced patent, the core-extension (6) fills up the internal space of the hollow channel (2). Accordingly the shape as well as the 10 area of the core-extension (6) matches that of the channel waveguide (1), as shown schematically. Again, the shape of the channel does not have to be rectangular as shown, and can be any other shape, such as oval, circular, square, or any combination of these. This self-alignmnent and self-shape- matching would make the fiber interconnection much simpler and much cheaper. Figure 9 shows the same as Figure 8, except that a tapered transition is added to the input end of the hollow channel (2) so as to ease the insertion of the optical fiber (5). Such an input transition may be added to all the embodiments described in the present invention disclosure. Figure 10 shows a slight variation from Figure 3 in that the fiber (5) is located entirely outside the hollow channel (2). This allows the width and depth of the hollow channel (2) to be only slightly larger than the diameter of the core (7), and yet less than the diameter of thecladding (8). Accordingly, the core-extension (6) does not have to diverge much before it can fill up the hollow channel (2). This is advantageous for reducing any possible mode-conversion loss that would occur when the taper is too fast or excessively long in the core-extension (6). Figure 11 shows the evloution of the light beam along the embodiment of Figure 10. All the embodiments described in this application may have the optical fiber (5) positioned in the fashion as shown in Figure 10, instead of that as shown in Figure 3 or Figure 9, without altering the basic teaching of the present application. In many applications there are more than one channel waveguide and more thsn one fiber involved with interconnection on a substrate. The embodiment shown in Figure 3 can be applied to such a multi-channel case as shown in Figure 12, in which two fibers (9) and (10) with two individual core-extensions (11) and (12), respectively, are connected to the two channel waveguides (13) and (14). At the opposite end is shown a mirror image with two core- extensions (15) and (16) connected to two fibers (17) and 1 1 (18). Note that each of the core-extensions (11), (12), (15), and (16) is confined within the corresponding individual channel, and merges to the inner walls of the corresponding hollow channel. This contrasts to the coupler embodiments described in the referenced patent, in which, whenever there is more than one fiber, the fibers are placed next to each other, and made to merge together among themselves through the core-extensions. The channel waveguides (13) and (14) may be optically isolated from each other, or coupled through the evanescent field coupling. The coupling may be controlled electrically if the waveguiding material has the electro-optic characteristics. In that case the light in one input fiber, for example the fiber (9), may be switched between one output fiber (17) and the other (18). Figure 13 shows the same situation as shown in Figure 12, in which the multiple fibers (19) and (20) and corresponding core-extensions (21) and (22) are connected individually to channel waveguide (23) and (24), except that the channel waveguides (23) and (24) are shown to merge together toward the middle (25) to form a light coupling region. This again contrasts to the coupler embodiments shown in the referenced patent in that in the present application, the core-extensions remain separate from each other and the coupling is made by tapered and merged channel waveguides, while in the referenced patent the coupling is made directly through the core-extensions that merge together. The embodiments and functions of channel waveguides (13), (14), (23) and (24) shown in Figure 12 and Figure 13 are commonly known in the fiber optic field. Thus the present invention is not claiming any new teaching on the functions of the channel waveguides, such as the coupling functions of tapered channel waveguides in Figure 13. What is new and novel is the optical fiber-to-channel waveguide interconnection embodiments. At this time the reality is that channel waveguides may be fabricated rather cheaply in a volume-production mode using photolithography and associated 12 thin film technology. The expensive part is the interconnection between channel waveguides and optical fibers. Acordingly, the interconnection method and embodiment disclosed in the present application could reduce the fiber optic component costs dramatically. Another important class of optical fiber interconnection is demountable fiber connectors. From the early days of fiber optic technology, there has been the recognition that the small size of the light beam being guided by optical fiber cores makes the connector design difficult and the cost high, and that the expansion of the light beam size would make the connection easier. Ball lenses and graded-index rod lenses have been often used to expand beams. The beam should be expanded substantially to ease the connection operation. Beam diameter from less than 0.1 mm to larger than 1 mm would be desirable. In connecting one fiber to another using light beam expansion, it is important to make sure that the light divergence angle becomes smaller as the beam diameter becomes enlarged. This is because, when the beam size is reduced to the original size so as to be coupled to a mating fiber, the light divergence angle gets larger. Thus, unless the angle gets small enough in the enlargement process, it would become too large to experience the total reflection in the reduction process. In order to keep the taper angle small in an enlarged connector, an embodiment as shown in Figure 14 is devised for a connector, which is basically the same as that shown in Figure 8, except that the channel waveguide (29) is tapered out and terminated at the end (30) for light connection. Most of the tapering and enlargement is achieved by the channel waveguide (29), which can be precisely designed and fabricated. The core-extension (28) is only to connect comformably between the fiber core (27) and the channel waveguide (29). The sectional views of the light guiding media at the various locations A, B, C, and D are shown in the lower part of Figure 14. In this particular case the enlargement of the channel waveguide from the 13 location C to D is a two-dimensional enlargement. The enlargement may be made only in one dimension. The enlargement from the location A to B could be very small by removing most of the cladding layer (26) and by making the channel width at locations A and B very close to the diameter of the etched cladding. Figure 15 is the same as in Figure 14, except that the channel waveguide (34) has a round sectional shape. Figure 16 shows schematically a perspective view of a connector, and its mating part, which would have a sectional view as shown in Figure 14. Figure 17 shows schematically an embodiment of a connector which would have a sectional view as shown in Figure 15. Figure 18 shows schematically another possible embodiment of the connector shown in Figure 15. Figure 19 shows an array of the connectors shown in Figure 16, in which two fibers (38) and (39) are individually connected to two separate, tapered channel waveguides (42) and (43) through two separate core-extensions (40) and (41), and terminated at the same end surface (44). This array connector is fabricated on the same substrate (45). The distance between the two guiding units can be precisely designed to achieve universal connection among array connectors of the same family. Even though only two units are shown in the array of Figure 19, many more, such as 16, 32 or 64 units, can be fabricated on the same substrate (45). Figure 20 shows basically the same embodiment as shown in Figure 14, except that the optical fiber (47) is short enough to be contained within the hollow channel, and a second fiber (46) is added as shown. After the core- extension (48) is formed following the teachings described in the referenced patent, the second fiber (46) may be removed, with the resulting embodiment shown in Figure 21. A new fiber may be brought in to replace the second fiber (46) interchangeably. Even the first fiber (47) m y be removed, resulting in an emodiment shown in Figure 22. In order to 14 make the first fiber (47) removable, a thin coating could be applied on the end facet of the optical fiber (47) before the core-extension (48) is fabricated following the teaching of the referenced patent. The thin coating should be made of a material that does not stick to the material of the core- extension (48). Possible materials with such non-sticking characteristics include silicone rubber and Teflon. The material could be also something that may be dissolved by a chamical that does not disturb other materials that make up the core-extension (48), the channel waveguide (49), or the substrate (50). The material could be a low-melting temperature material such as a wax. This feature, namely removal of the optical fiber, may be applied to other embodiments described in this application, such as that shown in Figure 3. Figures 23, 24 and 25 are sectional views corresponding to the embodiments shown in Figures 20, 21 and 22. Obviously many applications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

Claims: 1 5 Claims 1. An optical fiber interconnecting structure for connecting an optical fiber to an optical channel waveguide comprising: a hollow channel (2) fabricated in an optical substrate (3); a channel waveguide (1) fabricated in the same optical substrate (3), and laid collinearly as an extension of the hollow channel (2), with the cross-sectional shape and area substantially identical to those of the hollow channel (2); an optical fiber (5) with a core and a cladding, laid collinearly with the hollow channel (2) with its end facet facing the hollow channel (2); and a core-extension (6) of the optical fiber that resides inside the hollow channel (2), interconnecting the core of the optical fiber to the channel waveguide; whereby a light may be transmitted between the core of the fiber and the channel waveguide through the core- extension. 2. The invention according to claim 1 wherein the hollow channel is fabricated by a photolithography technique utilizing photoreative material. 3. The invention according to claim 1 wherein the hollow channel is fabricated by molding technique. 4. The invention according to claim 1 wherein the channel waveguide and the core-extension are made of the same material. 5. The invention according to claim 1 wherein the diameter of the cladding is substantially reduced close to the core diameter. 16 6. The invention according to claim 1 wherein the sectional area of the hollow channel is gradually enlarged as the distance from the channel waveguide increases, so as to ease the insertion of the optical fiber into the hollow channel. 7. The invention according to claim 1 wherein the fiber is entirely located outside the hollow channel, and the width and depth of the hollow channel is smaller than the diameter of the cladding and slightly larger than the diameter of the core of the optical fiber. 8. The invention according to claim 1 wherein the channel waveguide is tapered out to have a larger cross section at a greater distance from the core-extension. 9. The invention according to claim 8 wherein the cross section of the channel waveguide is enlarged in one dimension. 10. The invention according to claim 8 wherein the cross section of the channel waveguide is enlarged in two dimensions. 11. The invention according to claim 8 wherein the enlarged cross section has a square shape. 12. The invention according to claim 8 wherein the enlarged cross section has a round shape. 13. The invention according to claim 1 wherein the optical fiber is removably placed inside the hollow channel. 14. The invention according to claim 1 wherein the optical fiber is placed inside the hollow channel and is short enough to be contained within the hollow channel so as to allow a second optical fiber to be releasably connected to 17 the optical fiber in an end-butted fashion inside the hollow channel. 15. An arrayed optical fiber interconnecting structure for connecting an array of optical fibers to an array of optical channel waveguides in one-to-one fashion, comprising: an array of hollow channels fabricated in an optical substrate; an array of channel waveguides fabricated in the same optical substrate with each of the channel waveguides mated with one of the hollow channels in one-to-one fashion, and each of the channel waveguides laid collinearly as an extension of the corresponding hollow channel, with the cross sectional shape and the area of each of the channel waveguides substantially identical to the cross sectional shape and the area of the corresponding hollow channel; an array of optical fibers with a core and a cladding, with one of the optical fibers assigned to one of the hollow channels in one-to-one fashion, with each optical fiber laid collinearly with the corresponding hollow channel with its end facet facing the corresponding hollow channel; and an array of core-extensions of the optical fibers, with one of the core-extensions assigned to one of the optical fibers in one-to-one fashion, with each core-extension residing inside the corresponding hollow channel interconnecting the core of the corresponding optical fiber to the corresponding channel waveguide; whereby a light may be transmitted between the core of any of the optical fibers and the corresponding channel waveguide through the corresponding core-extension. 16. The invention according to claim 15 wherein the hollow channels are fabricated by a photolithography technique utilizing photoreactive material. 17. The invention according to claim 15 wherein the hollow channels are fabricated by molding technique. 18 18. The invention according to claim 15 wherein the channel waveguides have evanescent-field coupling with neighboring channel waveguides. 19. The invention according to claim 15 wherein the channel waveguides are tapered out in the width so as to merge with the neighboring channel waveguides for optical coupling. 20. The invention according to claim 15 wherein the channel waveguides are tapered out to have a larger cross section at a greater distance from the core-extensions, but still separated from the neighboring channel waveguides. 21. The invention according to claim 20 wherein the ends of the tapered channel waveguides are terminated by one common end facet that is substantially orthogonal to the orientation of the channel waveguides, so as to form a demountable end-butt light connection interface with another optical component.

Inventors: SHEEM SANG K
Applicants: SHEEM SANG K, SHEEM, SANG, K.
Application year: 1994
Main classification: G02B6
IPC codes: G02B6